Havant are the only team who remain undefeated after the first weekend’s play in the Indoor England Hockey League Division One at Flemming Park, Eastleigh. They found their form today with a 10-7 win over Surbiton and a 15-4 win over Guildford. St Albans, formerly maestros of the indoor scene, brought their three points from yesterday and moved into second place with wins over Sheffield University Bankers (9-4) and Surbiton (7-5). Doncaster, who had a stellar first day, slipped up against Harleston Magpies, who beat them 9-5, but they made short work of Guildford, beating them 6-1. Our photograph is from the match between Barford Tigers and Sheffield University Bankers, which the Tigers won 6-2. The shot shows Sheffield conceding a goal from a penalty corner. More images from today’s play will appear on our main web site (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) tomorrow (Monday).
MEN’S DIVISION ONE TABLE AFTER TWO DAYS OF PLAY (4 GAMES):
1. Havant – 10 Pts (+18)
2. St Albans – 9 Pts (+8)
3. Doncaster – 9 Pts (+4)
4. Stourport – 7 Pts (+1)
5. Harleston Magpies – 6 Pts (+3)
6. Barford Tigers – 6 Pts (-2)
7. Surbiton - 3 Pts (-3)
8. Sheffield University Bankers - 3 Pts (-10)
9. Guildford - 0 Pts (-19)
In Division Two North, Bowdon, Birmingham University, and Yeovil & Sherborne, will join Holcombe, Bath Buccaneers and Southgate from Division Two South in the combined Division Two at Cocks Moor Wood, Birmingham, next weekend.
In Women’s Division One, Aldridge have maintained an unblemished record and are top of the Division after wins against Bradford (5-1) and Liverpool Sefton (3-2). Sefton and Bradford suffered their first defeats of the competition, but earlier in the day Bradford had picked up a useful three points against Old Loughtonians (5-4), as had Liverpool Sefton against Nottingham Highfields.
WOMEN’S DIVISION ONE TABLE AFTER TWO DAYS OF PLAY (4 GAMES)
1. Aldridge – 12 Pts (+13)
2. Liverpool Sefton – 9 Pts (+17)
3. Bradford – 9 Pts (+1)
4. Nottingham Highfields – 6 Pts (+0)
5. Harrow 6 Pts (-1)
6. Old Loughtonians 4 Pts (+2)
7. Lansdown 4 Pts (-5)
8. Barnes 3 Pts (-3)
9. Leicester 0 Pts (-30)
Trojans, whose home ground is just down the road from Flemming Park, did not seem to mind the short journey to Croydon, where they finished top of Women’s Division 2 South, and they join Reading and St Albans who will team up with the top three sides from the North Division - Loughborough Students, Birmingham University, and Cannok in the combined Division Two next weekend.
Next weekend will see every Indoor EHL division in action. The Premier League did not play today having played their first weekend of matches before Christmas
BURLINGTON CUP IN VIENNA
It was a day of mixed fortunes for England on the final day of play. England’s women took on Slovakia for the 5th/6th place. Lucia Sipalova opened the scoring for Slovakia after eight minutes but Heather Batten was soon able to equalise. However, it was not to be England’s day and, despite a couple of late goals by Alex Scott, Slovakia were the 5-3 winners. However, there was some compensation in the form of a very convincing win in the women’s final by Scotland, who beat HC Wels 4-2, with goals from Vikki Bunce, Emily Maguire, Julie Bryce and Nikki Kidd. England’s men played through a goalless first half in their match against RotWeiss Munchen but managed to take the lead shortly after the break with a goal in open play by Richard Smith. It took the Germans two minutes to find an answer, with a penalty corner conversion by Sebastian Fischer, but a corner to England, converted by Adam Dixon, gave England a very welcome 2-1 victory and fifth place in the tournament. In the final Austria beat Poland ‘A’ 9-6.
